Psychological placebo and nocebo effects on pain rely on both expectation and prior experience

Expectation and prior experience are both well-established key mediators of placebo and nocebo effects. However, the investigation of their respective contribution to placebo and nocebo responses is rather difficult since most placebo and nocebo manipulations are contaminated by preexisting treatment expectancies resulting from a learning history of prior medical interventions. To circumvent any resemblance to classical treatments, a purely psychological placebo-nocebo manipulation was established, namely the “visual stripe pattern induced modulation of pain”.

from The Journal of Pain http://ift.tt/1PaOBY5
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